An engineer overthinks tennis in a daily journal.
Katrina Adams has a long list of firsts. She was the first African American President of the USTA. She was also the youngest, the first former professional player, and the first person to serve two consecutive terms in that role. To say that she is a trailblazer is an understatement.
The Honey Deuce cocktail traditionally served at the US Open is one of those topics that I initially thought would be a “one and done” post. As it turns out, I had a lot more to say about the beverage than originally anticipated.
The total prize purse for the first U.S. Open tennis tournament in 1968 was $100,000. Thus started a tradition of USLTA one-upmanship of offering more prize money than any of the other Grand Slam events. Leading into the tournament in 1968, the pressing public question was the source of the funds to be awarded. In retrospect, the distribution of prize money was more culturally and socioeconomically significant. It established the precedent for how money would be allocated between the men and women in the Open Era.
The moment a tennis racquet is placed into a player’s hand is a potential inflection point. It could be that moment that sparks a lifetime love of the sport. I have a reverential curiosity about how dedicated and accomplished tennis players came into their first racquets. Bobby Riggs relayed the story of how he obtained his first racquets in both of his autobiographies. The story of just how Riggs did that is… not exactly reverential. However, it does reflect the quintessential hustle of Bobby Riggs.
Martina Navratilova is the perfect case study of inequities in professional tennis endorsements. It is an undeniable fact that throughout here playing career she did not receive the same level of corporate sponsorship that the other players in her tier of performance were routinely awarded. We have previously touched on two contemporaries of Navratilova, Zina Garrison and Lori McNeil. Those players also did not receive many endorsement opportunities and that fact is attributed to the color of their skin. On the other hand, Navratilova’s issue is that she has always been always open about her sexuality. The tennis industry powers during her career simply did not believe that people would purchase products enforced by bisexual and homosexual athletes.
The Fiend at Court applauded the USTA initiatives that were announced on the first day of play during the 2020 US Open. These were primarily designed to promote and develop the growth of tennis in the United States. Those new campaigns included “Rally to Rebuild,” “Net Generation,” and “Tennis Industry United.”
The “Cone Game” is one of my favorite tennis practice drills. In fact I carry a set of orange cones in my portable ball hopper at all times. Whenever a week passes when I don’t engage in this drill, I detect a perceptible drop in consistency during match play. The cone game may be the most essential drill that I perform on a regular basis.
I have to confess a distinct lack of enthusiasm for today’s topic. This past weekend marked the first tournaments of the year to be executed under the new USTA Play Tennis framework. The largest of the events held was the Level 5 Open 2021 CATA Polar Bear Adult Doubles. That tournament was conducted in Austin, Texas. Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties, that tournament was ultimately run under the old TennisLink system.
Levels of the Game is a detailed account of the 1968 semi-final match between by Arthur Ashe and Clark Graebner play at Forest Hills. The match is the foreground of for a much deeper cultural and societal examination. The backgrounds and attitudes which shaped each player are interwoven with the match play.
Video is an essential tool in tennis development. The first time I ever saw video of myself playing tennis was at Newk’s Tennis Ranch when I was a young junior. The video camera was the size of an airline carry-on bag and was mounted on a heavy tripod. The playback equipment was also the size of a small suitcase. The image played on the TV was jittery and grainy.